The telecoms giant said: ‘We know no one likes price rises, but they are essential for us to keep investing and innovating’
Vodafone and Three are the latest telecom firms to announce bigger than expected mobile and broadband mid-contract price rises.
Three mobile customers who take out a data plan of 4GB or less from November 9 will be subject to a price rise of £1.80 a month from April 2026. This is an increase of 80p more compared to its current £1 monthly increase.
Those who take out a plan of between 4GB and 100GB will see their monthly price rise by £1.90 from April 2026, while customers who have more than 100GB will be hit with an increase of £2.30 a month.
Three broadband will see their bills rise by £3.50 a month from April. Vodafone mobile customers who take out a deal from November 12 will see their monthly bill rise by £2.50 a month, or £1.50 for its Basics SIM plans.
Again, this will kick in from next April. Vodafone broadband customers will be hit with £3.50 monthly price rise. If you already have a broadband or mobile contract with Vodafone or Three, your price will rise by your already agreed amount.
A VodafoneThree spokesperson said: “We know no one likes price rises, but they are essential for us to keep investing and innovating.”
It comes after O2 announced almost all mobile and SIM-only contract customers will see their monthly mobile bill rise by £2.50 a month from April 2026 – up from the originally planned increase of £1.80 a month.
Martin Lewis has since urged Ofcom to tighten its rules on broadband and mobile price rises. In an open letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Martin Lewis explained how O2 customers will see bills rise by 40% more than they were initially told.
He said: “I am writing to request urgent action to, at the very least, tighten Ofcom’s existing rules over unannounced mid-contract price hikes for mobile, broadband and pay-TV providers.
“O2 has just announced a route to circumnavigate these consumer protections to raise prices.
“Without an improvement in protection, it is now possible, or even likely, more firms across all the sectors will follow O2’s new method, which could add up to hundreds of pounds for households, making the cost-of-living crisis worse and fuelling inflation.”
An O2 spokesperson said: “As acknowledged by Ofcom in its letter to providers, its rules do not prevent companies from increasing annual price changes – for example, to invest in improving networks.
“The changes we have announced in no way breach any regulatory rules. We appreciate that price changes are never welcome, but demand for mobile connectivity is greater than ever, and any price change customers see on their bills is greatly outweighed by the £700m we invest each year into our mobile network to meet this growing demand.
“We have written directly to customers about this change, and they are able to exit without penalty if they wish.”
